Flashback: September, 2010
The class of 2014 had just arrived to school. We had gone through orientation and were in the first week of classes. Everything was new and intimidating. New sensations of vulnerability, anxiety, and uncertainty flowed through my being.
Luckily for me, the Juilliard faculty is always two steps ahead of us. We had a scheduled meeting with an Olympic Psychologist who gave us some amazing insight. The first question he asked us is how confident we felt on a scale of one to ten the day we received our Juilliard letter. Almost all of us said ten. Then he asked on a scale of one to ten how confident we felt that very moment. It was amazing that most of our answers were no higher that a three or four. Coming from being the best to being surrounded by the best is a very eye opening and humbling experience. Those two questions alone gave us all so much perspective. But what he said next would stay with me forever.
“You all are a box of crayons.” No crayon better than the other. Each is a different color of equal importance. Sometimes one may find that when coloring the beach, blue will be favored. Or maybe the artist will use green and everyone will be confused why the water is green and not blue even though the picture still turns out beautiful. Perhaps for a while yellow will be used for the sun. If drawing a sunset, you wouldn’t know how beautiful the yellow sun is without the orange, red, and purple surrounding it. You are a team, and together you can make beautiful masterpieces.
Suddenly, insecurities vanished and I was able to see the bigger picture. I would be lying if I claimed that they were gone forever. But the beauty of Juilliard is pushing through your own insecurities and doubts to emerge the best version of yourself that you can be. I am proud of my journey. I know that at graduation on May 23rd, I will receive my diploma and have no regrets. I couldn’t be prouder to be a member of the class of 2014. My classmates have pushed me to grow in ways that I could have never imagined, and it is such a joy to be continually moved by the people that I am surrounded by every day. I am just as inspired by them today as I was freshman year, and that is a beautiful gift. The work that we all put in has been remarkable. We have all created beautiful art together and most importantly we have grown as a family. Each individual in the class of 2014 has played an integral role in my time here and will always be a special part of my life. They are my classmates, colleagues, friends, family and teammates. I couldn’t have been placed in a better box of crayons, and I am so excited to see how we will color the world.